Mava Making
Mava is one of the very famous delicacies of Banni, very popular among the tourists visiting this place. Famous as the “Banni no mavo”, it has two varieties – the plain and the sweet mava. The plain mava is sold to the sweet shops in the adjoining places of Khavda and Bhuj, who prepare various types of sweets from the same. On the other hand, the sweet mava is a delicacy sold in various shops at Bhirandiara in Banni.
The sweet mava is prepared in a very unique way, milk mixed with sugar, which, at the end of the process, gives the milk a texture of the likes of broken rice and a brownish color. Its uniqueness also lies in the fact that the sweet mava, even though a milk product, doesn’t get spoilt for up to a week! This is one major reason, apart from the taste, why the sweet mava is so popular among people.
In the days when dairy was not functioning in Banni, preparing mava out of milk served as the only solution to prevent milk from perishing. The maldharis of Banni prepared plain and sweet mava and sold it in the market. Though today most of the milk produced goes to the dairies, mava making is still popular in Banni. Increased tourist activities in Banni have boosted this occupation. As many as 15-20 shops in Bhirandiara sell approximately 100 to 150 kilograms of mava on any given day, with per kilogram fetching them a price of Rs. 200/- . On a day bustled with heavy tourist activities, as much as 400-500 kilograms of mava are sold out in a day. With figures as big as these, mava – making forms a very important part in Banni’s economy.